Oxy’s Hammer, Arm & Hammer Go Arm in Arm

Which came first, Armand Hammer or Arm & Hammer? Arm & Hammer by more than a nose, but it doesn’t matter any more. They’re now one, sort of.

Armand Hammer, the 88-year-old industrialist, Sovietologist and patron of the arts, struck a deal on Monday that puts his Occidental Petroleum in league with the people who make and sell Arm & Hammer baking soda.

Officials at Los Angeles-based Occidental and Church & Dwight of Princeton, N.J., which has been making Arm & Hammer products for 126 years, said the joint venture between the two companies with the oft-confused names is strictly coincidental.

Perhaps, but Hammer has toyed for years with the idea of buying up the company whose familiar logo led to his sometimes being called “the baking soda king.” He even flew a flag on his yacht showing an arm and a hammer.

The Arm & Hammer brand has been part of Church & Dwight since 1860, when the firm bought a mustard and spice company bearing the logo. A spokesman said: “I think that predates Dr. Hammer.”

Not by that much. In any case, for the record, a 1975 biography says that Armand Hammer was named for the lover in Alexandre Dumas’ French play “Camille.”

Years later, after he had achieved some eminence, he recalled in the biography that he “found it slightly irritating” that people assumed he made baking soda.

“I mentioned this irritation of mistaken identity to my brother Harry one day and he said: ‘Why don’t we buy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, and then you won’t have to disclaim ownership when you’re asked’. That seemed like a good idea at the time, so I looked into it.

“Well, the company was owned by two nice old brothers in their 70s who had never had to issue a financial report on their business. . . . They seemed surprised that anybody would even think of trying to buy them out. Besides, their company was not for sale. And for good reason: They didn’t owe a cent and had $10 million in cash in the bank.

“So I realized that I’d have to go on living and being mistaken as the ‘Baking Soda King.’ But I guess there are worse things to be called.” Hammer and Occidental aren’t buying “the baking soda company,” but rather are entering into a 50-50 joint venture with Church & Dwight to manufacture potassium carbonate at a plant in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Occidental acquired the plant as part of its recent acquisition of Diamond Shamrock, and its contribution to the venture is the factory itself. Occidental will get about 1.1 million shares of Church & Dwight, plus $5.3 million in cash.

The founding families and current management of Church & Dwight will still own more than 50% of the company, according to an announcement by the two firms. However, Hammer won a seat on the company’s board.

Church & Dwight has been expanding in recent months. Although its Arm & Hammer consumer products still account for nearly 80% of its $230 million in annual revenue, Shaffery said its laundry detergent has become the biggest selling single product.